Rated or hated: singles reviews for Feb. 26
Sound Generator's Single Of The Week
The Cinematic Orchestra, the project of one Jason Swinscoe, release "To Build A Home" as a taster for the forthcoming album "Ma Fleur". This is a startlingly fragile, piano-based song; augmented by an emotive string section, it recalls the more vulnerable and exposed moments of Antony & The Johnsons, while Lou Rhodes' vocals are reminiscent of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah". Breathtakingly good.
The pick of the rest of this week's releases...
The Black Keys, "You're The One". A smokier sounding single you're not gonna hear this week. This tune sounds like it's coming at you straight through an absolute fug of ciggy smoke; a slow, pulsing beat underpins some particularly Lennon-esque vocals and a choppy haze of a guitar line. You can imagine driving towards the sunset on a lost American highway to this lazy, good-times tune.
I suppose you can't blame record companies for re-releasing singles once a band's profile is up there in the public consciousness, but it does get just a little tiresome.
Gossip's "Standing In The Way Of Control" is the latest cut to get a second (or is it third?) airing; all these many months after its first release, it's still a vicious, energised, spiky blast of punk-funk tethered to an awesome soul vocal from the inimitable Beth Ditto. This was a Single Of The Week last time round, and once again I exhort you to check this band out. You won't regret it.
Meanwhile, back in drab UK indie-land,
The Pigeon Detectives continue their admirably authentic 'songs in the style of The Libertines' series with "Romantic Type". I mean really, people, have you no ideas of your own? The Libertines split up several years ago! Predictably ramshackle and rough-hewn, I'll begrudgingly admit this is a pretty catchy song, but when The Libs did all this stuff so much better and so long ago, just what is the point?
At least the re-formed
Take That do things with a little bit of style. "Shine" sounds a tiny bit like Elton John (ergo it also sounds a little bit like the Scissor Sisters); this is everything a pop song should be - nice 'n shiny, nice n' slick and - at the risk of sounding like Dr. Foxx - finger-tappingly good. The big, brassy chorus and stomping climax will stick in your brain for, oooh, at least ten minutes after you've listen to it. Nicely done.
Richard Swift, "Kisses For The Misses". Largely unremarkable, piano 'n guitar singer-songwriter fare from the US solo artist. It's a vaguely Beatles-ey effort and has hints of Richard Hawley's smooth stylings, but in a massively overcrowded genre there's little to make this song stand out.
